Souls of War
by Sigma-del-Prisium
Summary: After the Second Extrasolar War, mankind have experienced a revolution that reformed their interstellar 'empire.' From the UCN to the USN, mankind has now evolved to a new level. After decades of peace, one discovery will change it all.
1. Prologue

After the total destruction of Helghan that irradiated the whole planet leaving no life left. Sevchenko, Velasquez and the other marooned ISA marines are able to return to Vekta using the new Helghast Strike crafts.

The news of the total destruction of Helghan brought bittersweet victory to the ISA. The ISA forces lost many brave men and women at Helghan.

May 13, 2360 is then marked as the end of the Second Extrasolar War and the day when the Helghan people become truly gone.

Scouting parties have been sent to Helghan to perform a deep-earth scan all over the planet. The result of their scans then revealed that the whole surface, even the air, of Helghan is too irradiated for any life form to survive. Though there are reports of energy spikes recorded over some of the surface of the planet but it is dismissed as energy spikes from surviving nuclear weapons caches.

The news of the total irradiation of Helghan and with the annihilation of the inhabitants brought great distress to the leaders of the Independent Colonial Strategic Alliance (ICSA) and to the people of other colonies. Even though the people of Helghan have done horrible deeds, it was never their fault that they followed people like Visari.

On May 13, 2361, at the first anniversary of the end Second Extrasolar War, ICSA requests an audience to the UCN leaders. The ICSA spokesperson, Harold Parkson, delivers his plea to the Earth leaders.

The Independent Colonial Strategic Alliance wishes for the United Colonial Alliance to give Earth's colonies more freedom, in terms of government control and economy, and equality among its citizens. This is to prevent future secessions and military uprisings among the colonies. The UCN leaders retaliated that by doing so, Earth will lose resources, the economy will collapse and the colonies will work immediately work to secede from the UCN. They dismiss the plea of the ICSA and warn them that if they will ensure any uprising, they will be met with military force.

Harold Parkson truthfully accuses the UCN and the ISA for the Second Extrasolar War. If it weren't for the oppression pressed upon Helghan which causes their economy to plunge down, Visari won't be able to steer the masses and enrages the hatred of the Helghast to the ISA and the UCN.

It is the decisions of the UCN and the actions of the ISA that spawns the Helghast.

**May 13 - 20, 2361**

The ICSA calls on for a full embargo among the colonies against Earth and secede from the UCN. The UCN declares the ICSA the enemy of the state and a rogue power. The ISA forces all over Earth's colonies are put on high alert.

Supporters for the reorganization of the interplanetary government start appearing all over the colonies. Protests are now starting to occur from the fringe colonies where ISA presence is minimal.

Protests start to grow as many colonists are supporting the regime-change and the reorganization of the interstellar government of the UCN. Local militia forces are now taking arms.

Increased taxations are then imposed by the UCN and enforced by the ISA against the colonies including Vekta. ISA forces are then sent to hunt down local militia leaders to prevent any uprising. Vekta is closely guarded by the ISA as security has been increased.

**May 23 – June 10, 2361**

ISA forces are now mobilized across the fringe colonies but fail to do so. The ISA military strength at the fringe colonies are of minimal strength, unlike at Vekta that received aid from the United Colonial Army and have better equipments, and are thwarted by the numerous militia forces which is supported by the masses.

**Aug 2 – Aug 21, 2361**

Support from the ICSA is provided to the local militia as colonial governments are undergoing regime-change. UCN-loyal governors are removed from power and are replaced by either ICSA-supported candidates or leaders of the secessionist movement.

ISA bases, vehicles and ships are now taken over by the local militia in order to defend their homeworlds or assist the other colonies.

Secession of the fringe colonies are going smoothly as the movement and protests are starting to appear at the main colonies.

ISA and UCN propaganda increases in order to control the colonies' populace. The UCA Navy is now gearing up for deployment as the ISA forces are beefing up their forces.

**September 1, 2361**

The UCA Command has sent fleets of ships heading towards the seceding colonies to regain their control over them. The decreased resource income from the seceded colonies is now starting to affect the growth and wealth of the UCN.

ISA forces all over the colonies are now confronting the 'Secessionists.' UCN loyalist commanders are now brutally confronting the secessionists leading to casualties numbering in thousands.

**November 3 – 5, 2361**

Large protests appear at the Vekta capital demanding the reorganization of the government and the ease on their increased taxes.

ISA forces are then ordered to confront the protestors which led to some casualties.

The UCN Senate, now fearing the loss of all of the colonies, declared martial law and ordered all remaining ISA forces to hunt down the secessionist in the remaining colonies.

The UCA fleets are now confronting the rag-tag fleets of the ICSA and the Secessionists among the fringe colonies.

**January 10 – 27, 2362**

The ISA Command at the colony Vekta is divided due to internal conflict especially from the survivors of Operation Archangel in the invasion of Helghan. One of the prominent leaders is Capt. Tomas Sevchenko, along with Lt. Col. Jason Narville and Capt. Rico Velasquez who wants to protect their homeworld along with its citizens.

The other survivors of Operation Archangel rally the other ISA forces to join the movement.

The protests at Vekta are now in full swing as support from the seceding ISA faction joins in. Support from the ICSA also reaches Vekta to assist in the movement.

**February 1 – March 2, 2382**

Vekta has been secured by the secessionist movement along with the seceded ISA faction. The shipping lines towards Earth has been blockaded that prevented resources from the Sol system.

The news of the loss of Vekta reaches Earth and brings despair to the UCN leaders. Now with their resource income comes to a halt, the UCA Navy dispatches a fleet to regain control of Vekta and the shipping lines.

Within month, the UCA fleet reaches Vekta and proceeds in confronting the seceded ISA forces. The former ISA cruisers confront the UCA cruisers along with the newly deployed strike crafts and modified leech pods.

Naval and ground battles are then fought by the former ISA and secessionists with the UCA ground forces.

Many of the UCA cruisers are captured after the battle over Vekta due to the use of the leech pods by the seceded ISA forces.

**March 12 - 15, 2362**

This deployment and the halt of the flow of resources from the colonists cost the economy of Earth along with the other colonies within the Sol system due to their over-reliance on the extrasolar colonies for resources.

Riots and protestors start to appear over Mars, Luna and Earth due to the resource rations. The situation becomes more dreadful as the news of the defeat of the UCA fleet and the failure to regain Vekta arrives.

The ISA cruisers at Vekta are equipped with warp coils, which are reverse-engineered from the Helghast Strike Fighters brought in by Sevchenko and the other ISA forces from Helghan, are launched toward Earth.

Within 12 hours, the ISA cruisers reach Earth which is much to the surprise to the UCA Command. A short but brutal naval battle commence at Earth's orbit. The ISA cruisers defeat the UCA Fleet by using the combination of ship-to-ship battle and deployment of strike fighters and leech pods.

**March 17, 2362**

In the face of orbital bombardment and massive starvation, the UCN Senate surrenders.

The UCN officially surrendered with the signing of the unconditional surrender aboard the _Philadelphia_ in orbit of Earth. The ICSA takes over the new government and starts reorganizing the system which then give birth to a new interstellar government.

**December 12, 2362**

The reformation of the government system has been complete and forms a new nation that composes of all the colonies of the former UCN and the ICSA which is called the "United Star Nations."

**December 13, 2362**

The formation of the new interstellar nation, "United Star Nation", is the officially announced to all of the citizens of the colonies. The capital is moved at the planet "Elysium" which contains agricultural and industrial economies with the capability to sustain itself.

Earth has been designated as the major cultural center as agriculture has been restored in order to feed itself. The Sol system has been transformed into major shipping yard and military base as resources from its local sources have been formed.

* * *

><p>Similar self-sustaining concepts have been organized to all the star systems and each developed a self-serving economy.<p>

Warp Coil technology has been introduced to the public and is distributed to shipping companies. Within months, the time duration for both interplanetary and interstellar travel has decreased dramatically. With warp coil, all ships have achieved FTL speed with an average speed of 17 light-years for 24 Earth-hours.

With the ability for FTL, exploration and expansion are now on the rise as surveyor ships equipped with warp coils are now scouting other unclaimed star systems. Trade is also on the rise with the decreased shipping time, real-time interstellar communications are also formed much faster and better.

The military force has been reorganized as well. Plans for various ship designs from the former UCA has been opened and allowed other colonies to field them. To combat inefficiency of deployment, Sector Commands has been formed and planets like Elysium are assigned with such. Another unit is the Colonial Defense Force which is responsible to the security of the planets within a star system.

Sector Commands are the main base-of-operations for the newly formed USN military which will deploy fleets to other star systems within their immediate domain. With this, reinforcements can reach them in a short time.

New propulsion technologies are now being developed which includes the newer beam thrusters, fusion engines and magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters. Deuterium and helium-3 production are on the rise as companies like Eldfel-Ashland Energy, who is demonstrating helium-3 mining on Saturn on 2370.

* * *

><p><strong>April 15, 2375<strong>

**Unexplored star system**

The system is a trinary system with three stars at the center. There are about six planets orbiting the stars. The system is high in radiation especially at the first three planets. The place should have been left alone if it weren't for the large amount of metal that are in easy rich. Mining outposts, settlements and orbital stations are constructed around the planets and asteroids outside the extreme radiation zone.

On one of the mining outposts, they have discovered a new mineral. Tests done by the USN scientists revealed the mineral to have an atomic mass of zero (0).

Later examinations and experimentations reveal the 'element zero' to have mass manipulation properties which is linear to the electric current.

**May 5, 2375**

After further refinement and experimentations, the science of mass manipulation physics (Mass Effect Physics for others) is born. The first application of this MNP is to increase FTL speed and real-space travel.

**September 12, 2375**

The first implementation of MNP to the Warp coil technology has been completed. By synchronizing the Warp Coil and the point-zero mass from the element zero core, in theory, can rapidly increase FTL speed.

The first ship employing the new Warp Coil, the _Odyssey_, initiates warp from planet Vekta to Gyre. The estimated time interval is a surprise. The estimated FTL speed from the new Warp Coil is now at 100 light-years in 24 Earth-hours.

Implementations of the new Warp Coil are going underway.

* * *

><p><em>77 Years Later<em>

**March 17, 2437**

_**Hyperion Xi**_** Sector**

_**1131 Lambda**_** System**

1131 Lambda has one main sequence star with seven planets orbiting around it. Shanxi, the latest and farthest colony of the United Star Nations, is the only planet inhabited by the USN.

Shanxi is mostly an agricultural colony with few industrial and mining operations except for the two moons orbiting the colony where large mining settlements and shipyards are located. It has light defenses which is mostly against pirates and marauders that consists one Command SD platform and seven Satellite Defenses, one small fleet of light cruisers (13 at planet side and 27 at the two moons. The Light cruisers are the ISA cruisers.), and eight divisions of the ground forces and air force.

The planet is largely unexplored with only a quarter settled and scouted. The planet's and the moons combined population are under five million. The planet is the also the drop-point for many scouting and exploration parties.

At the edge of the system, a great artifact is discovered. Through deep earth scans at an ice moon, a large anomaly has been detected and a small group of cruisers has been sent to thaw out the artifact from its icy prison.


	2. Chapter 1

**March 20, 2437**

_**Hyperion Xi**_** Sector**

_**1131 Lambda**_** System**

At the edge of the star system, a mobile outpost _Spirit of Frontier_ has been positioned at some distance from the artifact as the thawing operations of the frozen artifact continue. There are about ten ships from _Hyperion Xi_ Sector Command and Shanxi Defense Force that participated in the thawing operations.

The ships are bombarding the frozen shell of the artifact with their beam cannons to melt the ice and use the 'Hellfire' missiles to crack the majority of the ice shell.

A few numbers of USN Strike Fighters are flying around the perimeter guarding the area from potential piracy and terrorism.

_**Spirit of Frontier**_

The station outpost is actually a mobile station equipped with thrusters, element zero core and warp coils. It is torus-shaped station, two torus rings over each other, with a central tower at its center which extends at both sides. The bridge/command center is over the shorter tower over the torus station.

It is 400 meters in total length, 600 meters in diameter, the command tower is 75 meters long and the thruster tower is 125 meters long.

The main MPD thrusters, using the plasma directly from the fusion core, are located directly below the torus station.

At the command center of the _Spirit of Frontier_, the operators and scientists are busy working all over their consoles and data. The head of the team, Dr. Ian Stuart, is overseeing the thawing operations and the science teams who will study the artifact.

"Dr. Stuart, the thawing process is about to be complete." One of the communications officer reported.

Standing by one of the command center's armored panoramic windows Dr. Stuart is watching the thawing operations. From her point of view, the last of the ice has been melted and reveals the large artifact.

"Yeah I can see that from here." He replied as he walked towards the command table at the center. He then called out to the science vessels through the comms.

"_The thawing procedures are complete. All science teams proceed to second phase now."_

_Outside in space_

The light cruisers are now leaving the vicinity and are taking position around the _Spirit of Frontier_ and the artifact. They are now performing their primary task of protecting the _Spirit of Frontier_ from any threats including from extra-terrestrial ones, due to the discovery of the alien artifact.

The science vessels, totaling five of them, are now moving in to examine the artifact. They are now proceeding to scan the whole artifact including its internal structures.

The science vessels are about 155m in length, and are equipped with fusion-powered beam thrusters and warp coils. They are also equipped with highly advance deep-earth scanners, capable of penetrating over 400m into the crust, and highly sensitive sensors.

The artifact is designed like a large tune fork with a sphere near at one end. It has a silver metallic polish and has no visible energy output.

One of the science vessels, _Weikes-1_, scanning the artifact, accurately the mass effect core, detects a large number of element zero in it.

"_Sir, I'm detecting large amount of concentrated element zero here at the artifact's _core_."_ The scanner operator of _Weikes-1_ reported to the _Spirit of Frontier_. _"This is a surprise. Who would have thought to detect this large amount of concentrated element zero here?"_

_**Spirit of Frontier**_

**Command Center**

"Could you repeat what you just said?" Dr. Stuart said in surprise. "Did you just detect concentrated element zero?"

"_Affirmative, Sir. I'm detecting large amount of it at the artifact's core."_

"Is it active? Do you detect any electric field from the element zero concentration?"

"_None detected, Sir. The core is totally neutral and no detectable power can be detected."_ The reply came over a minute later.

"Continue scanning. Find the artifact's possible power source."

Dr. Stuart then leaves the command table and heads towards the elevator. Capt. William Quincy, captain of the _Spirit of Frontier_, joins him in the elevator. Once inside and on the way down, Capt. Quincy speaks with Dr. Stuart.

"Can you tell me what that alien artifact is, Doctor?"

Dr. Stuart, who is streaming over his data pad which is being fed with the transmitted data, answers without looking up.

"Well, captain. I can only hypothesize two possible functions to the alien artifact."

"And what would those be?"

"By looking at its design and the presence of concentrated element zero at its core, it can either be a large kinetic weapon or a highly advance FTL transport system."

"An ancient kinetic alien weapon?" Capt. Quincy raised an eyebrow. "If it is, it's going to need a round the size of a large asteroid. That is one going to require one hell of logistics."

"That left us with the second option for it to be a FTL transport system." The elevator then opened up to the lab where the some scientists are present.

The two then steps into the laboratory as the elevator closes behind them. Dr. Stuart then leads Capt. Quincy to the central holo-table with three HD glass screen over it. The holo-table projects a three-dimensional hologram of the alien artifact, and the glass screens display the schematics and details of the artifact.

"If this alien artifact is for FTL transport…" Capt. Quincy pointed to the 3D-hologram. "How do you think it operates?"

Dr. Stuart studies the details and schematics of the artifact which is collected from the science vessels before answering.

"It is hard to deduce, Captain." He replied more solemnly. "This artifact may function differently from our latest warp coil technology. But I can deduce that it reduces the mass of an object to a point where faster-than-light can be achieved."

Dr. Stuart then pauses as he recalls some details of Mass Manipulation Physics and the additional theoretical usages of element zero.

"It is also possible that it launches the said object to faster-than-light which is possibly very much faster judging by the size of the artifact and the large concentration of element zero."

"I see." Capt. Quincy replied as he held his chin and processed the information. "Thanks for your input, Doctor. I'll be taking my leave for my report."

"Glad to help." Dr. Stuart returned to studying the data being collected.

Capt. Quincy then heads to the elevator and reaches for the level where his quarter is located.

_Three days later_

**Artifact Site**

**USN Light Cruiser **_**New Moon**_

The USN light cruiser is an upgraded version of its predecessor the ISA Cruiser. It has stronger dispersive armor, 'Hellfire' long-range missiles, M44 AA Quad Railguns, single turret pulse lasers and the prow-mounted beam cannon which doubles as the main beam-heated MPD thruster.

They are equipped with force field system which is built due to the presence of energy shielding by Stahl's personal cruiser without the use of irradiated petrusite. The warp coil installed in the cruiser is designed to be smaller than the Helghast counterparts, as with all of the military vessels in the USN.

They are powered by the latest generation of fusion reactor which becomes the dominant source of energy due to the loss of petrusite supply along with the loss of Helghan. The maneuvering thrusters at the 'head' of the cruiser are also using beam-heated MPD thrusters.

**Bridge**

At the sensors section of the _New Moon_, the sensors operator is currently relaxing in his chair with his feet crossed over the console. His console them sounds an alarm at the deep-space section of the LED screen.

"What the hell?"

He quickly removes his feet over the console and sits himself upright. He looks at the main screen displaying seven targets in FTL moving inbound.

"Sir, I'm detecting seven unknown boogies at FTL moving inbound!"

Commander Lawrence Howard, executive officer of the _New Sun_, runs to his position from the back of the bridge.

"Where is its point of origin?" He ordered.

"Outside the system from the unexplored space." The sensors operator then gathered his thoughts. "It looks like we are about to have an alien contact."

Cdr. Howard eyes slightly bulges as the thought of meeting aliens for the first time catches up to him. He quickly sends a series of orders to the bridge crew.

"Comms, contact the rest of the ships and inform them about the aliens! And get Capt. Smithson to the bridge now! All hands on their stations!"

The communications officer opens an intercom channel to contact the captain before contacting the rest of the ships. The rest of the bridge scrambles to get the ship battle-ready. The rest of the ship is now scrambling to get themselves ready and the pilots run to the Strike Fighters.

_Outside in space_

The USN Light cruisers are now taking defensive formation before the possible drop-point of the aliens in vertical position. The _Spirit of Frontier_ is moving behind the formation also in its vertical position. All ships have activated force fields and missiles ready in case of the aliens are hostile. The USN Strike Fighters are in the cruiser hangar bays ready to be deployed.

**USN Light Cruiser **_**New Sun**_

**Bridge**

Capt. John Smithson, a middle-aged navy officer serving the _New Sun_ for over seven years, is standing in the middle of the bridge overseeing the fleet formation. He has black tamed dreadlock-like hair, green eyes, lightly muscular and has lightly fair skin.

"ETA?" He ordered in a deep voice.

The sensors operator checks his screen console before answering.

"They appear to be slowing down." He said first. "Calculations suggest that they will reach sub-light speeds in… less than fifteen minutes."

Capt. Smithson then nods before going over the intercom.

"All right everyone. We are about to meet real aliens so God forbid someone screw this up." He said first through the intercom. "So check everything. And may God forbid that they are hostile."

_15 Minutes Later_

**USN Light Cruiser **_**New Sun**_

**Bridge**

"They are about to reach sub-light speed, Captain." The sensors operator reported.

"Get ready, everyone. This is our big moment." Capt. Smithson called out.

Everyone in the _New Sun_ tenses as the countdown to the arrival of the real-life aliens approaches to zero. Similar atmosphere are present to all of the ships as the idea of being the first to meet the aliens.

The alien ships appear before the USN Fleet with their engines facing them. The said ships then somersaults to reorient themselves. The ships are having designs of a predatory bird-of-prey with multiple facets around the surface.

There are six smaller ships, having lengths of 300 meters, and one larger ship, having a length of 700 meters.

As soon as the aliens ships finished reorienting their ships, Capt. Smithson quickly gave the order.

"Open communications. Let's greet our guests."

The _New Sun_ sends a communications link and newly-made greetings to all of the alien ships before them. As the attempt of contact happens, everyone tries to stay calm through most of the time. But the aliens are still not answering the phone.

"Try all frequencies. Contact them as soon as you can." Capt. Smithson ordered.

He is having a very bad feeling about the ships especially as they reorient themselves before them. As he looks at the new formation of the alien ships, he quickly realizes what is happening.

"_Oh shit!"_

The sensors operator then shouts a warning.

"Detecting multiple energy spikes!"

"EVASIVE ACTION!"

The _New Sun_'s thrusters push the ship just in time when the alien ships fire their weapons. The other ships are able to notice what just happened and take the initiative to evade.

One of the cruisers is caught by one of the shells. The force field is able to withstand the shell but the force is able to shake its crew.

The rest of the ships launch a barrage of hellfire missiles at the alien ships. Pulse lasers start shooting out of the alien ships and take nearly half of the barrage. The rest slams over their kinetic barriers.

One of the smaller ships is taken down when its kinetic barrier fails and a hellfire missile slams onto its hull. The remaining six alien ships launch torpedoes at them.

The M44 quad railguns and single turret pulse lasers from the USN light cruisers fire a storm of hypersonic rounds and very thin beams of lasers that easily take out the torpedoes before they are able to reach the force fields. The alien ships then resume firing their main cannons and manage to destroy another USN light cruiser.

_**Spirit of Frontier**_

**Bridge**

The bridge shakes as the crew hold on to anything they can grip on when a shell from the alien ships. Capt. Stuart holds on the railing at the command post and pulls himself upright.

"Get the warp coil ready for jump! Get us the hell out of here!" Capt. Stuart ordered. "We need to warn them!"

**Engineering Bay**

At the engineering bay, the large warp coil cage is being charged up. The warp coil is designed to be a spherical cage that that is made up of two warp coils with an element zero core, which is physically shielded, at its center.

"It will take us five minutes before we can go to warp!" the head engineer said into the intercom. "Better try to get us away from here."

The _New Sun_ evades a shell from the aliens by moving to its left using its thrusters. It then orients it bottom tip and fires its prow-mounted beam cannon. The beam lances through the hull of a smaller vessels and the alien vessel explodes.

_**New Sun**_

**Bridge**

The bridge shakes again as one of the alien shell hits the force field of the _New Sun_ and sends some of the crew of their seats. Capt. Smithson is standing from the floor and groggily gives an order.

"Get us out of here! Call all ships to retreat back to Shanxi! Initiate the warp coil!"

All of the USN Light cruisers, numbering only six left out of ten, activate their thrusters where their beam cannons are. They quickly orient their ships before pushing the thrusters to maximum as their warp coils charge.

The alien ships didn't pursue them due to their lost in numbers, from seven to three, and position themselves before the alien artifact. But one ship stays in position facing the retreating the USN cruisers watching them. The rings at the core start spinning in a slow rate as the core slowly glows in blue. After a short while, the artifact is fully active as its core glows with bright blue light. The alien ships then use the artifact to transport themselves out of the system to beyond.

Back at the fleeing USN ships, their warp coils are fully charged, the charge of the element zero cores remain constant, and activate them. The warp coils shoot the USN ships to warp heading back to Shanxi.

_A few minutes later_

**High orbit of Shanxi**

**Command SD Platform**

**Command Center**

At the sensors console, alarms blare as the sensors detect multiple objects moving at FTL. After a few seconds, the objects drop out of warp revealing the _Spirit of Frontier_, _New Sun_ and the remaining five more USN light cruisers.

The commanding officer, General Ronald Forge, quickly orders for a communications link to the _New Sun_. As soon as the communication link is connected, the face of the Capt. Smithson appears at one of the main screens.

At the screen, sparks and light smokes can be seen behind Capt. Smithson. This gets the outmost attention of the Gen. Forge.

"What happen back there, Smith? It looks like a storm just hit your bridge."

Capt. Smithson coughs first before answering.

"We got hostile alien contact, General." He then lowered his face with some grief. "And it looks like we're about to meet more of them."

"Oh fuck!" the general cursed. "Get your ships reach the docks. Be at HQ within the hour."

Capt. Smithson nods before cutting the link. The deafening silence fills the space of the command center with the exception of the beeping of the consoles. No one really expects or even dreams of meeting a hostile alien race.

Gen. Forge breaks the silence by giving an order to every crew of the command center. This snaps the crew of their trance.

"All hands ready for battle." He ordered to the crew loudly. "Get the SD network prepped for battle. Move!"

The crews quickly run to their stations and starts preparing the SD network in the event of an alien invasion.

_Other side of the relay_

**Turian Hierarchy space**

**Un-colonized Sector**

The turian vessels are currently idling in deep space. At the bridge of the large vessel, there is a conversation going on.

"_You say that these beings attacked you with powerful energy weapons?"_ the hologram of a high-ranking turian officer asked.

"Yes, admiral." The turian captain lied. "They must have detected our ships while we are slowing down because we already found them in formation after we reorient our ships. We have no choice but to defend ourselves."

"_But how did you manage to escape?"_

"We are able to take out two of those cruisers." The turian captain explained confidently. "After destroying two of those 'cruisers' they flee using an unidentified FTL. We return to turian space using the mass relay at the edge of the system."

"_Were they activating the mass relay?"_

"It is possible, admiral. The mass relay is freshly uncovered. Ice deposits can still be seen over its surface indicating excavation. They must have planned to activate it but our arrival prevents them from doing so."

"_I see. Good work, Captain."_ The tuian admiral commented. _"Head to the nearest naval base, we're going to subdue those beings. Their technology will be very useful the whole Hierarchy."_

The hologram of the turian admiral then winks out. The turian captain grins as he knows that he is about to be one of the most distinguished turian in history. All he needs to do is to make sure that those beings are subdued.

_One hour later_

_**Hyperion Xi**_** Sector**

_**1131 Lambda**_** System**

**Shanxi**

**SDF Headquarters, Garson City**

The SDF Headquarters is the main base-of-operation of the Shanxi Defense Force which coordinates the planets and the system's security. It is situated within Garson City, the capital of Shanxi, which is one of the five cities at the planet. Garson City holds a population of near one million citizens and holds the space port at the edge of the city.

At the conference room of the SDF Headquarters, a meeting is going on discussing the hostile alien contact by the site of the artifact. At the conference room are Capt. Smithson of the _New Sun_, Gen. Forge of the Shanxi Command SD Platform, Dr. Stuart from the _Spirit of Frontier, _Gen. Daniel Bussard of the Shanxi Army, and Admiral Helen Keyes of the Shanxi Defense Navy along with other officers. They are currently conversing with the high officers of the _Hyperion Xi_ Sector Command and the USN High Command through video conference in a highly secured FTL communication link.

"Our first contact with aliens has gone down to hell. The alien ships fire the first shots after we sent our greetings." Capt. Smithson reported. "We lost two cruisers, the _Iowa_ and the _Ohio_, from the main weapons of the ships."

"_This is grave news. To think our first contact with real ET's is a shootout."_ Gen. Carlos Seene grieved from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. _"Now we have to deal with a very possible invasion."_

"_You're not alone on that matter."_ Sec. of Defense, William Varnz, told him. _"This is going to be hard to report to the president. The stakes are high and can we even fight them effectively?"_

All heads turn to the Capt. Smithson who has the battle recordings from the databanks of _New Sun_. He then collects his thoughts before nodding to an officer in the room. The officer then inserts a data chit into a slot at the conference table.

A three dimensional depiction of the space battle with the alien ships at the artifact site is the projected over the conference table. The friendly ships are colored blue while the alien ships are colored red.

"The alien ships seem to be using a type of kinetic weapon similar to a coilgun as their main ship-to-ship weapon." The scene of the alien ships firing their main weapons and the rounds hitting their force fields can be seen at the hologram.

"They also have laser weapons that are used against the hellfire missiles." The scene where the USN light cruisers launch a salvo of hellfire missiles towards the alien ships then appears at the hologram. Lasers are then fired from the alien ships destroying at least half the missile salvo before hitting the shields of the alien ships. One of the smaller ships is then destroyed by three hellfire missiles.

"They have shields, I wonder if they strong enough to block our main weapons?" Admiral Keyes inquired.

"That's the funny thing, admiral." Capt. Smithson said.

"Could you explain why so, Captain?"

The hologram then shows the _New Sun_ firing its main beam cannon towards a small alien cruiser. The beam lances through the hull with no visible effect at the shields,

"As you can see Admiral the energy beam from our main cannons is not affected by their shields." Capt. Smithson answered. "Our sensors show no detectable effect on their shields."

That surprises the rest of the officers as they didn't expect an alien race with no capability of blocking energy weapons. The force field technology has been in the USN Navy for over twenty years after less than five decades of research.

"_Dr. Stuart, do you have any assessment on the alien ships?"_ Admiral Korhal of the _Hyperion Xi_ Sector Command asked.

Dr. Stuart consults his files at the datapad before answering the admiral's question.

"According to the sensors at the _New Sun_ and the _Spirit of Frontier_, the alien ships' shielding uses a type of gravity force field that blocks any type of solid objects." Dr. Stuart first said.

"Their main type of kinetic weapon fires very small slugs at subluminal speeds. The strength of the kinetic weapons varies from each ship according to the sensors. The pulse lasers have the power ranging from 200 to 300 kilowatts, which is well in range of our own pulse lasers."

"_How about the propulsion and the type of FTL that the alien ships use?"_ Admiral Korhal asked.

"Sensors detected plasma ejections at very high temperatures from their thrusters which can only be generated from fusion reaction." He then checks his datapad for the alien ships' FTL. "The sensors detected decreasing gravity distortion field around the alien ships which is similar to the point-zero mass from the element zero."

"This aliens use element zero?" The intrigued Capt. Smithson asked. "You're telling me that these aliens use element zero."

"It's possible."

"_That is troubling."_ Admiral Antonio Kane said for the first time. He is the commanding officer for the USN Navy. _"Are they related to the creators of the artifact?"_

Dr. Stuart shakes his head before answering.

"We don't have enough proof that they are related to who ever created the artifact. All I know is that they have more extensive knowledge in the use of element zero than what we know."

"Well I don't really care much about those aliens' relation to the artifact." Gen. Forge said. "But I'm not letting this world of ours and everyone here suffers under them. If it is a fight they want, it's a fight they will get."

The rest of the high-ranking officers agree to Gen. Forge's statement. Their primary concern is defense of Shanxi and the security of its people.

"We'll show those aliens that we're not going down without a fight." Gen. Bussard added with some pride.

Dr. Stuart is then asked to left the conference room before the military officers discuss their plans for the defense of Shanxi.

The order for the possible invasion is then sent to all commanding officers. Preparations is then immediately initiated as every military personnel are gearing up as the orbital defenses are placed on high alert.

_Well that wraps this chapter up. Hope you enjoyed this chapter._

_The USN ships and the ME ships are fairly equal in terms of shield strength and ship defenses. But the advantages of the USN ships are beam cannons, better propulsion systems and weapon strength._

_For information on the new Warp coil of the USN, the 100 light-year per day speed can only be achieved at point-zero mass (or the maximum mass decrease) provided by the element zero core (mass effect core) which consume too much power and takes longer time to charge. For emergency FTL jump, only the warp coil is used. The element zero core is only used for fast long voyages._

_Any suggestions to this story will be appreciated. See you soon._


	3. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the delay of update, I have been working on my other stories. Hope you enjoy this chapter._

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><p>Chapter 2:<p>

**March 25, 2437**

_**Belarus Delta**_** Sector**

_**Beta Eridani**_** System**

**Elysium**

Elysium is an Eden-type planet with lush five separate continents which are called as Pangea, Atlantica, Pacifica, Evergreen and Utopia. Seas and oceans cover the rest of the surface of the planet.

Elysium is the where the seat of government of the United Star Nations is located and transferred from Earth. The capital building is built at Pangea, the largest of the continents, where the capital city, Olympia, is located.

**Olympus Prime**

Olympus Prime is a large arch-like glass structure with a circular archology occupying the center of the arch. The arch facets on both sides are angled with the center vertical by over 30 degrees.

Olympus Prime is the seat of the government for the United Star Nations. It is where most of the USN government offices and headquarters are located.

**President's Office**

Within thesmall and secured chamber, meetings between the three of the highest officials in the USN government, among them are the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of Defense, and President of the United Star Nations.

"You're telling me that our first contact with extraterrestrials goes down to a shootout." Pres. Narville expressed in disbelief. "And now Shanxi is in great danger of being invaded."

President Jeffrey K. Narville, at the age of 43, has black bushy hair, slightly-built body, brown eyes, lightly thick eyebrows and tall.

To say that he is surprised by the report of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is an understatement. He is shocked beyond words, to think that your first contact with aliens is a shootout.

His position as the president of over billions of souls all over the forty-seven worlds within the United Star Nations now weighs over his shoulder more greatly.

"Yes, Mr. President. Shanxi is now under the threat of an alien invasion." Chairman Ronald Douglas, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replied.

Pres. Whitmore lowered his head as he digested the information.

He is currently feeling what his grandfather, Gen. Jason Narville who is a survivor of the Helghan invasion, feel during the Second Extrasolar War and the Reformation War which forms the USN out of the UCN.

"Are there measures being taken to defend Shanxi and the other worlds?" He asked the two.

"Nearby battle groups are now being relocated to Shanxi but not yet enough to indicate serious activity." Chairman Douglas answered.

"We are transferring the 208th, 209th and 210th Marine Battalions to Shanxi along with the 141st and 142nd Armored Division to strengthen their ground forces." He continued. "We are also sending in additional AA Quad Railgun and pulse lasers to bolster the ground defenses. We also set up early warning systems and Wolf Spiders."

Wolf Spiders are cloaked space mines shaped like a bell that use passive sensors to detect unidentified ships. It has the ability to discern between a ship and natural asteroids, and to detect friendly ships.

Once it detects an unidentified ship, it deploys it flaps from the side of the bell hull which contains control thrusters and the main thruster ignited. It then uses its active sensors to home on the signature of the detected ship and chase it until impact.

They are equipped with different varieties of explosive for its warhead. It ranges from more powerful explosives similar to the Hellfire missiles to the rare fusion device.

"I'm glad to hear that." He said with a sigh of relief. "Do we have any plans on how to bring the fight to those bastards?"

Sec. Varnz takes over the discussion as he passes folder to Pres. Narville. The folder contains the document that provides the details of the offensive. Pres. Narville then opens the folder as Sec. Varnz speaks.

"We are planning to send the 13th fleet which consists of three carriers, fifteen Heavy cruisers, twenty-three medium cruisers and thirty-two light cruisers thus totaling of seventy-three ships. All are given full complements of falcons, strike fighters, marines, and armor. They will also have 3 months' worth of supplies." Sec. Varnz said before he continued. "The 13th fleet will be our first offensive and set us a base-of-operations. This will then be followed by other fleets to strengthen the offensive."

Pres. Narville is quite surprised on the amount of ships that the 13th fleet and its composition. Even the fleets that the former UCA Navy sent during the First and Second Extrasolar War didn't reached this amount even today. Now that we are at war with an alien civilization it is best to prepare for the worst.

"How long will it take to get the fleet ready?" Pres. Narville placed his hands over the table.

"It will take three weeks to get the 13th fleet ready, Mr. President." Chairman Douglas answered.

"Won't that be too late? What about Shanxi?"

"They will have to hold out during those times. We can't transfer more ships and forces without getting attention." He replied apologetically.

Pres. Narville grunted at that but kept it to himself.

"_Good soldiers always make do with what he has, right."_ He thought to himself.

"Very well, Chairman Douglas, I understand the situation. But get as much support as you can to Shanxi. We're going to hold our line." He told Chairman Douglas.

"It will be done, Mr. President."

Pres. Narville then faces Sec. Varnz and orders him.

"Sec. Varnz, get find some way to communicate with those aliens. We need to contact them before this battle turns into a full-blown interstellar war. Understand?"

"Understood, Mr. President." Sec. Varnz nodded.

"Now that we have them covered, you're all dismissed." He waved them away.

The two high-ranking officials stand up from their seats and salute. Pres. Narville returns the salute and the two officials leave the office. Pres. Narville then slouches into his seat and tries to relax.

He can't believe what just happened, things where working perfectly but now. He sighed before he continued his thoughts.

"I will be the first president to declare war against aliens." He said to himself with humor. "May God forbid that this event mark the end of humanity."

**March 27, 2437**

_**Hyperion Xi**_** Sector**

_**Sigma Indi**_** System**

It is a fully industrialized star system where the gas giants, asteroid fields and barren moons are littered with mining colonies, factories and orbital stations.

Surface and space defenses are placed around the colonies though light and only enough to defend against pirate groups.

At the heart of the system is a planet with one large moon. Solomon, headquarters of the _Hyperion Xi_ sector command. The planet has one large singular landmass and surrounded by one ocean where collections of islands and archipelagoes are located.

In orbit are a number of orbital clusters which consist of Command SD Platforms and satellite defenses that forms a planetary network of defenses. Together with the defense fleet, Solomon is a mighty fortress as testament for being the holder of a large military in defense of its sector.

At the main land, the factories and manufacturing facilities are producing weapons, vehicles and ammunitions while both the ground and orbital shipyards are refitting or building the ships of the 13th fleet.

Passing-by civilian ships take notice of the fleet being assembled in orbit. Few questions are being asked but for most of the time, they shrug and mind their own business.

**Sector Command HQ – **_**Hyperion Xi**_

The headquarters is located inside a large military base where many of the assets of the Rapid Reaction forces are based. Defense systems consisting of Quad railguns, pulse lasers, missile launchers and anti-armor cannons are scattered around the base.

Within a closely guarded chamber, the first batch of chosen naval and ground commanders is being briefed about their mission.

The chamber is designed with terrace seats and long desks with the speaker's table at the bottom before the desks.

The commanders are known to be best in their own fields and respected. When they enter the chamber earlier, they are quite surprised to the amount of security and the secrecy.

There are talks between them as they speculate the nature of the meeting. They all receive their orders through couriers that belong to the Interstellar Intelligence Agency.

Their speculations include another interplanetary insurgency, secession, and other possible events. But most of them are not close to attain the level of secrecy that the meeting is about.

Later, Admiral Antonio Kane from the Joint Chiefs of Staff enters through a doorway at the bottom floor. He is wearing a navy blue service dress uniform decorated with chevrons and a few medals, and polished black boots.

Admiral Kane then takes the speaker's table below as the commanders straighten themselves in their seats. He then faces them as the aids distribute sealed data pads to their tables. After distributing the data pads, they then leave the chamber and the guards outside seal the passages.

White noise generators and minute-EMP emitters then activate to disrupt any possible recorders and remote signals within the chamber rendering any form of communication useless. The soundproof paddings also allows for any outside listeners to be deprived of any information.

After everything is secured, Admiral Kane proceeds on briefing the commanders.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, you are here today as you are all chosen because of the great service you have done and being the best in your own fields." Admiral Kane started. "Within this chamber, everything you will learn will not go out through any means."

He looked at them with a hard look in order to convey his message. The chamber stayed quiet as the commanders remain stoic and listen.

"Within three weeks' time, you all will be sent into unknown territory to face an unknown enemy." He tapped the screen of the flat glass screen over the speaker's table which is hidden from view. The logo of the USN Navy is then projected at the wall behind him.

"What you're about to see... will the greatest history of mankind." He tapped the small screen again then the detailed clip of the battle between the security detail of the USN science teams and the unknown alien ships.

**Turian Hierarchy Space**

**Palaven – Turian Home World**

Surrounding the turian home world are over a hundred of warships are orbiting the planet as testament to their status as the galaxy's peacekeepers.

**Hierarch Military HQ**

Inside one of the numerous chambers of the headquarters, one is specially secured to the importance of the turians inside.

"Interesting an energy weapon employed as an offensive weapon, even our pulse lasers aren't capable of reaching such power levels." The 'admiral' of the turian navy commented.

Before them over the conference table, the _edited_ video of the battle between the turian scouting party and the unknown ships is being played in 3D hologram.

The unknowns' ships which have same size as their cruisers seem to be designed to be vertical rather than horizontal. They are pretty much in awe with the ships' weaponries such as the missiles and the powerful beam cannon.

"These beings are a dangerous race like Diliens but their weaponries will make them a worthy adversary." The 'admiral' continued.

"Agreed, their weapons and possible technology will serve the hierarchy much better." The 'general' of the turian army said. "It will advance our technology by the centuries."

"Do you think we can subdue them like our other 'client' races?" a civilian official asked. "They clearly have better technology and firepower."

"We can subdue like the rest of them." The 'admiral' confidently replied. "What can few planets do against a fraction of our military might?"

"And from the looks of their guns, they are clearly using solid projectiles that we have abandoned over centuries ago." The 'army' added. "Our troops can take care of them."

The conversation continues for a few minutes discussing about some details about their enemy. The Prime Hierarch then joins their conversation.

"How long will it take until we muster our invasion force?" The Prime Hierarch asked. He is wearing a decorative suit and robe that indicates his position over the Hierarchy.

The officials especially the 'admiral' and the 'general' thought for some time before they gave their answer.

"Due to their technological advancement, we will be increasing the standard number of ships required for the invasion." The 'admiral' answered. "It will take at least 'weeks' to get the fleet ready."

"We will be increasing the number of troops for the planetary operations in case these beings have other tricks hidden at their planet." The 'general' asked.

"That's good to hear. This race is going to be a great addition to the Hierarchy." The Prime Hierarch stood up. "I'll be taking my leave as I have other matters to attend to."

"Of course, Prime Hierarch." The civilian official said as he bowed. The others bowed as well as their leader left the chamber.

**April 11, 2437**

_**1131 Lambda**_** System**

**Artifact Site / Mass Relay**

Turian ships start jumping in through the relay numbering in tens at each jump. As the ships of the turian invasion fleet continue to amass before the relay, scouting parties start to scatter through the system searching for the race's planet.

Some of the scouting parties jump into mass effect FTL in order to scout the other portions of the star system.

**Over 1 million kilometers from Shanxi**

One of the turian scouting parties drops out of FTL. As soon as the ships drop out of FTL, they begin to scan their surroundings.

**Scouting Group – 13**

**Turian Frigate**

**CIC**

"Sir, I'm detecting large amount of radio transmission from the garden-class planet." The turian sensors operator reported. "I'm also detecting large objects orbiting the planet."

"This must be it. Gather as much information as you can." The frigate captain replied. "Engineering, get the core ready as soon as you can."

After staying a few minutes, the scouting party quickly turns around and jumps into FTL inbound to the main invasion fleet.

During their stay, the long-range probe far from Shanxi had detected their presence and recorded all of their actions. The probe had established a direct communication line with the Command SD Platform and had alerted their presence.

**Command SD Platform**

Gen. Forge is checking over the platforms system diagnosis when his communications officer reports about the detection by the probe.

"Sir, probe-A10 has detected a small number of ships." The communications officer checked his screen for other details. "It matches the alien ships' profile."

Gen. Forge quickly moved to his station to read the details. He read that the ships are smaller in numbers indicating them to be a scouting party.

"Alert HQ and tell them that the aliens are here." He then looked at the other stations. "Prep the stations laser cannons. Get all of the satellites into operational levels."

He walks towards one of the tempered glass windows looking into deep space.

"We're about to go to war."

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><p><em>I know this is short but it is the best I can get into this story. As you had read, the USN is about to go to war with the turians.<em>

_Be ready for some surprises I'm going to have for this story so stay tune._


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